The Jealousy Acceleration
by Anjirika
Summary: "I say sure," Penny finished. "Why not. Should be fun." In 'The Flaming Spittoon Acquisition' what if Penny had agreed to go on a date with Sheldon. How would that have changed everything? Read on to find out.
1. Saying Yes

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN BIG BANG THEORY. THAT HONOUR GOES TO CHUCK LORRE. I'M JUST BORROWING THE CHARACTERS FOR MY OWN PERSONAL ENJOYMENT, AND HOPEFULLY YOURS TOO.

_Author's Note: This is a different take on "The Flaming Spittoon Acquisition" in which Penny actually goes on a date with Sheldon. This is my second Shenny fic ever so please be kind with your reviews. _

**The Jealousy Acceleration**

**Chapter One: Saying Yes**

Sheldon came striding into Penny's apartment, she was just in the middle of making pasta and the delicious smell of the tomato sauce was wafting throughout the space. She seemed to be in a very happy mood and Sheldon hoped that that would make her more receptive to what he was about to say. "I came to ask if you would like to go on a date with me," he said at last, watching as she nearly dropped the wooden spoon in surprise.

"I'm sorry what?" she asked.

"A date with me." Sheldon explained, trying to sound as aloof as possible but Penny could see an underlying nervousness about him. "Dinner. Dancing."

Penny looked at him suspiciously. "Are you trying to make Amy jealous?" she asked.

"Amy!" he exclaimed in an exasperated tone. "Why does everyone wonder if I'm jealous about Amy and Stuart?"

"It was just a thought Sweetie," Penny pointed out.

"Well it was a wrong thought..." Sheldon retorted before pausing. "...so what do you say?"

"About?"

"Dinner," Sheldon repeated. "Dancing. You and me."

"You're serious about this?"

"Course I am."

"And Sheldon...you're not jealous?"

"Would it matter if I were?"

Penny nodded. "Of course."

"Well you can rest assured, that I'm not." Sheldon assured and while he seemed sincere, Penny couldn't help but wonder if he was lying. "So what do you say?"

"What do I say?" Penny asked as she tried to think about what she should say. She knew that it was against her better judgement to go out with Sheldon, considering how precarious her relationships with the other guys was after her little dalliance with Raj and Penny also knew that dealing with her 'beastie" would also probably prove to be a nightmare but there was something in Sheldon's eyes that she just couldn't ignore.

"I say sure," Penny finished with a shrug of her shoulders. "Why not. Should be fun."

Sheldon broke out into a smile. "Excellent. Let's go."

"What? Now?"

Sheldon nodded. "Why not now?"

"Sweetie this is a date," Penny explained patiently. "If you want to do this right then you need to give me some time to get ready."

"Oh," Sheldon replied looking rather surprised. "Alright. How much time do you require."

"I don't know Sheldon," Penny said as she glanced at her clock. It was six o'clock and Penny knew that she'd need at least half an hour to get ready. "Why don't we say an hour?"

Sheldon nodded his approval. "I'll be back at seven."

With that said Sheldon turned and left leaving Penny alone with her half cooked dinner. She knew that it would keep for another night if she put it directly into the fridge but that wasn't what was troubling her. What was troubling her was the fact that she felt as though her entire world had just experienced a monumental shift.

"Did I just agree to go out on a date with Sheldon?" she asked herself in utter surprise as her clock struck a quarter after, and Penny realized that she must have been standing in a stupor for nearly fifteen minutes as her mind wandered.

Penny mentally berated herself for wasting fifteen minutes and spent the next five minutes cleaning up what would have been her solitary dinner. With only forty minutes to go she raced into her bathroom and turned on the shower. Twenty minutes later she was washed with her hair dried and her legs shaved. She was standing in front of her open closet debating on what to wear when she realized how ridiculous she was being.

"This is Sheldon we're talking about," she told herself as she picked out a nice casual dress to wear. "He won't care what I'm wearing."

Once she was dressed with her hair slightly curled and a bit of makeup on Penny made it to the door just in time for Sheldon's third knock. With a smile she opened it, but her smile immediately fell as she saw Sheldon. He wasn't wearing a superhero t-shirt with jeans like she expected. He was dressed in the suit that she had made him buy, and Penny found her breath hitching in her throat at how handsome he looked.

"Oh Penny," he said with a smile. "What a nice dress."

"Oh no sweetie," Penny said as she shook her head. "I can't wear this when you're wearing that."

"This?" Sheldon asked gesturing to his suit. "Isn't this what one normally wears on a date?"

"Well that depends," Penny admitted. "Where are we going?"

"Dinner," Sheldon answered. "And dancing. Like I said."

"I know that you said," Penny replied. "But I didn't actually think that you were serious."

"I am always serious," Sheldon told her. "Where did you think that we would be going?"

Penny shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. The comic book store, a superhero movie or some symposium thingy."

"Penny," Sheldon began in an exasperated tone. "The comic book store is not a suitable place for a date, though I admit I did think of it first. There are no superhero movies out at the current time and while I would love to go to a symposium not only is there none being held, I know that you would not find it engaging and a date so the internet has told me, needs to be engaging for both parties."

Penny just stared at Sheldon in shock before nodding. "You're right...let me change my dress. Give me two minutes and then we can go."

Sheldon waited by her front door while Penny raced back into her bedroom her heart beating a mile a minute. Of all the things she had expected she had not expected Sheldon to be dressed as he was. It put a whole new spin on what she thought was just a futile attempt to make his current friend who happened to be a girl jealous.

"Penny?" asked Sheldon from just outside her door. "It's been three minutes."

"Sorry Sheldon," she said as she snapped out of her musings again. "I'm almost done."

Penny grabbed a dark green cocktail dress that she had bought a couple months previously and then rooted under her bed to the matching shoes with silver buckles. Once the dress and shoes were on she transferred her drivers license and debit card to her silver purse and opened her bedroom door. "Alright," she said feeling rather flustered. "All set."

Penny looked at Sheldon who turned and she was surprised to see how stunned he looked. "Uh, is this not a nice dress? Is it too formal or something?"

"No," Sheldon assured as he shook his head. "If anything it is even more pleasing to the eye then the last one."

Penny blushed under Sheldon's gaze. "Thanks. Should we get going?"

Sheldon nodded and held out his arm, which Penny took rather hesitantly. "I know that it's not entirely proper but you will have to drive tonight."

"Oh it's alright sweetie I don't mind."

"I know you don't, but it has made me realize that maybe I should put my focus into actually driving more often."

Penny grimaced and shook her head. "It's not something that you're naturally gifted in," she said as delicately as possible. "I mean you were brilliant when you drove me to the hospital for my shoulder, but..."

"I require more practice."

"Yes you do."

Sheldon paused as Penny locked her door. "I don't suppose that you would be willing to teach me again... would you?"

Penny looked at Sheldon in surprise. "I could but..."

"I promise that I will endeavour to be a more attentive student," Sheldon stated. "I will listen and trust that you having more experience with driving know better even if I disagree."

"Okay who are you and what have you done with Sheldon Cooper?"

"I'm right here Penny," Sheldon assured her. "I am still me."

"You're being so nice," Penny pointed out.

"Is a gentlemen not supposed to be nice when on a date?"

Penny was floored. "Uh, yeah I guess that they are."

"Then I suggest that you stop complaining."

Penny laughed at the normal distain that creeped into Sheldon's voice. "Alright then, I will. No more complaining from me."

"Excellent, now we must hurry if we are to make our seven-thirty reservation."

TBC


	2. The Date

_Author's Note: Thank you to all who have already reviewed the first chapter it means so much to know that my story is being so well received. I can only hope that you will like this chapter just as much. Please leave a review!_

**Chapter Two: The Date**

"Wow Sheldon," Penny stated for what felt like the hundredth time as she finished up her desert. "Thank you so much for bringing me here. This place is amazing."

"Yes the Chateau Blanc is a rather fine restaurant."

"How did you find this place?"

"It might surprise you, but when I first moved to Pasadena I was quite adventurous as I tried to find my own routine. This restaurant was one of the highlights of those months, though it seemed rather out of sorts with the other places that I chose to spend my money in terms of sustenance and I have not been back since."

"Well you should definitely come here more often."

"No, I think I won't." Sheldon told her.

"Oh?" asked Penny curiously. "Why not."

"Amy Farah-Fowler does not appreciate French Food."

"Well you don't have to go with Amy," Penny pointed out as she took a sip of her coffee, trying to ignore the surge of jealousy that went through her. She cared for her 'beastie' a lot however she had been the first regular female into Sheldon's life and Penny wasn't happy that Amy had come and manipulated a lot of his time.

"Who else would I go with?" asked Sheldon.

"Well..." Penny began hesitantly. "You could always come back with me..." she paused and caught a glimpse of Sheldon's face and knew that she would have to keep talking in order to keep the conversation sounding casual. "I mean this place is terrific but I would never be able to come here on my own what with my waitressing salary and all and I really would like to come back here again and – "

"Curious," Sheldon muttered to himself as he neatly folded his napkin and placed it beside his plate.

"What's curious?" Penny asked, caught off guard by him interrupting her.

"Oh nothing, just something that I have observed."

"And what have you observed? Something about me I bet."

"Well yes," Sheldon admitted. "I am sitting across from you after all."

"Alright, let's here it. What have you observed," Penny goaded, thinking that he had observed something unpleasant about her eating habits.

"Just that you tend to babble when you're nervous."

"You're just noticing that?"

"No," Sheldon answered. "I just found it curious that you seem to be nervous with me when you've never shown yourself to be nervous before."

Penny found herself at a loss for words. She knew innately that Sheldon was right. She was quite nervous, but even she couldn't pin point why so instead of agreeing with him, she chose to shrug it off. "Well I don't know what you're talking about Sheldon because I'm not nervous at all."

"I'd beg to differ."

"You know I do babble sometimes when I'm having a good time." Penny pointed out; it wasn't a lie per say but she more often than not babbled when she was terrified or nervous. Sheldon seemed to accept this answer and flagged down the waiter for the cheque.

Relative normal chitchat about the food continued out of the restaurant and in Penny's car. He only stopped every so often to direct her to where they would be dancing. All conversation ceased after that as Penny lost herself in Sheldon's arms as he waltzed her around the ballroom floor. Unlike the last time that they had gone dancing where it had been more like a class, this time Sheldon had found somewhere that there were professionals enjoying their evening and among them, Penny could almost forget all her troubles.

...

"Sheldon thank you," Penny said sincerely as Sheldon walked her to her door later that evening— although technically speaking it was morning for it was well after midnight. "I had a wonderful evening."

"Me too," Sheldon confirmed, caught off guard as Penny kissed his cheek. "What was that for?"

"It's a goodnight kiss Sheldon," Penny explained. "It's a non optional social expectation at the end of a date."

"Oh," Sheldon stated with a nod, accepting Penny's answer. "Excellent. Would you make sure to tell Amy Farah-Fowler that we partook in a goodnight kiss and a very pleasant evening to boot?"

"Tell Amy? Why would I..." asked Penny, feeling the elation of the evening coming crashing to the ground. "Oh my god Sheldon!" she shrieked as she realized what he had done. "You lied to me. This was to make her jealous."

Sheldon shook his head. "I didn't I—"

Penny didn't stop to listen to what Sheldon was saying; she just opened her door and slammed it in his face. Sheldon looked at the door for a moment and considered knocking on it, however he realized that that would be an unwelcome course of action and so instead he turned and entered his own apartment where he found Leonard watching an episode of Doctor Who that had been taped on their PVR.

"Sheldon?" he asked in surprise as he turned to greet his friend. "What are you doing wearing that suit?"

"I wore this on my date this evening."

"You had a date this evening?" Leonard asked. "With who?"

"The correct grammar is with whom Leonard."

"I know that," Leonard snapped. "But Amy is out with Stuart."

"Of this I am well aware," Sheldon replied.

"Then with whom did you have a date with?"

"I took Penny out for an evening of dinner and dancing."

Leonard felt as though he had just been punched in the guy. "You took Penny out on a date?"

"Does the idea seem so preposterous to you?"

"Well...yeah Sheldon," Leonard replied, trying to keep his voice as level as possible and his breathing as steady as possible to negate the asthma attack that he felt coming on. "I mean you and Penny can barely tolerate each other."

"On the contrary," Sheldon disagreed. "Aside from her simple Nebraskan ways and her various infuriating faults, I find Penny to be the most important member of our group."

"You mean you actually like her?" Leonard asked.

"Of course I do," Sheldon replied. "I thought that was obvious."

"No," Leonard said as he tried to figure out just what had been going on inside Sheldon's head when he invited Penny out on a date of all things. "No it's not."

"Hmm..." Sheldon murmured as he walked past Leonard on the way to his bedroom. Stopping at the entrance of the hallway, Sheldon turned around. "Leonard, you have more experience with Penny's anger perhaps you can answer something for me."

Answering Sheldon's questions about Penny was the last thing that Leonard wanted to do but before he could think of an excuse he found himself nodding and saying; "Go ahead."

"You no doubt heard her slam her door and I was hoping that you would be able to figure out for me why she was so angry after we had, by all accounts, such a fun evening."

"Well..." Leonard began slowly. "Women usually get angry at men for saying something stupid. That's usually why Penny slammed the door in my face."

"But I never say anything stupid."

"You must have said something to upset her."

"I don't see what," Sheldon stated in confusion. "All that I asked was for her to tell Amy Farah-Fowler that we partook in a chaste goodnight kiss."

"Sheldon did you go on a date with Penny to make Amy jealous?"

"No." Sheldon assured.

"Did you tell Penny that?"

"When I asked her to accompany me for an evening of dinner and dancing." Sheldon explained. "Which is why I am at a loss as to why she would be so upset with me."

"Why did you ask her out in the first place?"

"I figured that if Amy could go out with someone who was less intelligent than her than I should do the same. You know me Leonard, I like being able to keep up with people even if it is in a lowly human emotional way."

"You know that you sound like you're jealous of Amy and Stuart," Leonard pointed out.

"I am not jealous," Sheldon repeated. "I was merely curious as to what was so special about going on a date with someone. I figured that if Amy could experiment with Stuart then I could experiment with Penny."

"Is that all she is to you?" Leonard asked, feeling the jealousy welling up inside you. "An experiment?"

"The date itself was an experiment for me," Sheldon corrected. "I do not view Penny to be an experiment. The subject of it yes... much like when I tried to train her with chocolates but I do not view her as some conquest as you did."

"I never saw Penny as a conquest,"

Sheldon gave his short laugh. "I beg to differ," he argued. "From the very first moment that you laid eyes on her you said that she would be your wife and that she would bare your children one day. From that moment on you were steadfast in your futile attempts to woo her, much like your futile attempts at being top in your field, or succeeding at some video game."

Leonard clenched his fists in an attempt to keep his anger under control. "What is your point Sheldon?"

"My point is that my mother always told me to treat women with the utmost respect and to not look at them as some prize to be won. Now I never have understood why someone would look upon a woman as a prize but I have always known to treat a woman with the basic respects that every human being deserves. You did not extend the same courtesy to Penny."

"I...you..." Leonard stuttered, finding himself at a loss for words.

"Now if you'll excuse me," Sheldon continued. "I need to rest and mull over the events of this evening. Goodnight Leonard."

With that said, Sheldon had disappeared down the hallway leaving Leonard alone.

TBC


	3. Questions and Answers

**Chapter Three: Question and Answer **

Leonard however just couldn't believe that Sheldon had actually gone on a date with Penny and so as soon as he could hear Sheldon in the bathroom going through his pre-bedtime ritual, he stealthily left the apartment and walked across the hall.

Tentatively he knocked on the door and heard Penny bark out. "Go away Sheldon!" Gritting his teeth together Leonard tried the handle and found that the door was unlocked. He entered and saw that Penny was in a very appealing dark green dress. That along with the fact that she was pouring herself an extremely large glass of wine basically confirmed for Leonard that she had gone on a date with Sheldon and that it had not ended well, just as he said.

"Uh...bad night?" he asked watching in surprise as she looked up at him. "With Sheldon I mean."

"That geeky bastard is just using me to get to Amy," Penny stated angrily as she took a large gulp of his wine. "He doesn't care about me or my feelings. And why should he? I'm just the annoying failed actress, eternal waitress who lives across the hall from him and..." she paused in her ramblings and looked up at Leonard's face. Penny could see that it was a mix of horror and shock and despair. In that confused look of his, Penny realized that there was some part of Leonard that loved her still and even though she regretted letting him go, she also knew that she would never be able to love him the way that he wanted her to.

"What?" she asked at last. "Didn't Sheldon gloat about how his little date with me was bound to make Amy jealous?"

"No actually..." Leonard told her as he walked a little closer to the couch. "He just mentioned how he wasn't jealous of Amy and Stuart and how he was genuinely confused as to why you were mad at him."

"Oh."

"Why are you mad at him?" Leonard asked as he sat down on the arm of the couch.

"I..." Penny began but she found that she couldn't think of an answer and so she just took another gulp of her wine instead.

"Oh my god," Leonard choked out, interpreting her silence for something else entirely. "You're falling for him."

Leonard's statement caused Penny to spew out the wine that she hadn't swallowed in surprise. After choking slightly on the liquid that went down the wrong way she just looked up at him again. "Excuse me?" she asked as she wiped her hand across her mouth.

"You're falling for him," Leonard restated. "Why else would you be so upset?"

"I'm so upset because I asked him point blank if he was using me to make Amy jealous and he said no."

"Then why don't you believe him?"

"I don't believe him because he brought her up twice."

"In what context?" Leonard asked, even though he really didn't want to know the details of her date with Sheldon. Even thinking of Penny on a date with Sheldon made his blood boil and while his natural instinct was to yell some sense into her, Leonard also knew that if he was ever going to have a chance with her, he was going to have to be her friend first and foremost.

"What does it matter?" Penny asked as she took another gulp of her wine and ended up downing the rest.

"It matters because Sheldon doesn't think like the rest of us," Leonard pointed out. "Plus he doesn't have any close female friends aside from you and Amy. It would make sense that he'd draw comparisons between the two."

"Yeah like I could ever compare to Amy," Penny scoffed as she poured herself another large glass of wine. "I may be prettier than her but she is a hell of a lot smarter than I am and seeing how Sheldon can have actual intellectual conversations with her, I don't stand a chance."

"Oh my god." Leonard repeated. "You do like him."

"Not it that way," she assured him though she wasn't sure whether or not she was telling the truth.

"Then in what way?"

"I...he..." Penny began however she once again was at a loss for words and so she took a smaller sip of her wine. It was going to her head and she was afraid of saying something to Leonard that she would regret later.

How could she tell him that there had always been something magnetic about Sheldon. She remembered how when she had first moved in she had been more drawn to him— tall and handsome that he was. Is irksome qualities had made Penny do her best to ignore him and instead she gravitated to Leonard because it was nice to actually be wanted by a guy who wasn't just after one thing.

How could she tell Leonard that throughout it all Penny had built up a friendship with Sheldon. He seemed to understand her in a way that none of the other fellows did and as Penny took another much larger gulp of wine she realized that somewhere along the line her feelings for Sheldon had changed. She wasn't falling for him, she wasn't even close to thinking that he was relationship material but he had been her friend just a few short months previous and now she knew that she couldn't just place him in that category because he was so much more to her now.

"Okay," Leonard continued trying to keep the flow of conversation flowing. "How about you tell me the contexts in which Sheldon brought Amy up."

"Well the first it was at the restaurant," Penny replied. "He mentioned how he wouldn't be able to come back because Amy doesn't like French food."

"And the second?"

"He asked if I was going to tell Amy that he gave me a peck on the cheek and that we had as a, and I quote "pleasant evening to boot" as if anyone talks like that."

"Sheldon does." Leonard retorted. "And from what you've told me...and from what Sheldon told me, he was being sincere."

Penny took another huge gulp of wine. "How do you figure?"

"Well in terms of the first context he was mentioning how none of us would go to a restaurant like that let alone dancing. Amy might have been willing but she and Sheldon are on the outs right now."

"And the second?" asked Penny.

"Well don't you tell Amy and Bernadette every aspect of your lives?"

Penny paused mid-sip and realized Leonard was right. "I guess I should apologize to him, shouldn't I?"

"I think that that would be a good idea but not right now," Leonard agreed. "In the morning."

Penny gave him a sheepish smile. "Thanks for the advice."

"You're welcome..." he said as he stood up. Leonard wanted to comment on how odd it was to be giving her advice on Sheldon but he wasn't willing to go there. "I'll uh, see you later."

"Later." Penny agreed.

Leonard let himself out of her apartment and crossed the short divide to his own only to find that the door was locked. He thought about pounding on the door to wake Sheldon up because he didn't have a key, however Leonard knew that such an action would be futile considering the fact that Sheldon slept with earplugs in.

With a sigh he turned around and hoped that Penny had a their spare key still. He knocked softly and she opened the door with a surprised look on her face. "Sheldon locked the door and I don't have a key," he told her. "Do you have the spare?"

Penny shook her head. "He made me return it ages ago."

"Oh uh...can I stay here for the night?" Leonard asked cautiously. "I'll stay on the couch of course."

"Of course," Penny stated as she finished off her glass of wine before letting Leonard into the apartment. "No problem."

"Thank you," Leonard stated sincerely as she went to her room and grabbed the spare pillow and blanket that she had stored in there. "I appreciate it."

"What are friends for?" she asked with a smile as she handed him the pillow and blanket. "Night Leonard."

"Goodnight Penny," he replied as he watched her close her bedroom door. "Friends..." he muttered to himself as he settled down. "Guess that's all we are now."

TBC


End file.
